Hello fellow predator hunters!I have been doing some research on the Gray Wolf and Red Wolf finding its way into Pennsylvania. I thought I would also post some of what I found here too.

This article is about Gray Wolves ending up in Indiana and Missouri. If you kill a really big coyote, or a large canine, it just may be a Gray Wolf or Red Wolf. Here is the info quoted from the article and the links to the stories.

Quote:

[QUOTE]Monday, August 04, 2003Wisconsin wolf turns up in Indiana

Indiana Department of Natural Resources biologists occasionally get calls from people reporting sightings of mountain lions, bears or wolves. Most of these sightings are cases of mistaken identity. These large predators, which once roamed Indiana, are now absent from the state.

Last month, however, a Randolph County resident wasn't crying wolf when he reported a large canine found dead in a soybean field. Indiana DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials retrieved the remains of a young male gray wolf that had traveled more than 400 miles from its birthplace in northern Wisconsin.

"This is the most southern movement we've ever detected of a Wisconsin wolf and is really a pretty remarkable example of a young male wolf dispersing from its pack to try and establish its own territory," said Adrian Wydeven, a mammalian ecologist and wolf specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

"This wolf was found more than 407 miles away in a straight line across the map, which cuts across the bottom of Lake Michigan, so it is obvious he actually traveled much farther, especially considering he had to get around the greater metropolitan Chicago and Gary areas." U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials are currently investigating the wolf's remains to determine a cause of death.

The wolf was initially captured east of Black River Falls in Jackson County, Wis. in August 2002 as a 46-pound pup. He was a member of the Wildcat Mound Pack in the Black River State Forest where he was probably born in April 2002. He was fitted with an ear tag transmitter that allowed biologists to track his movements. The transmitter failed after Jan. 15, 2003, at which time he was still in his home territory in Wisconsin. Wolf dispersal normally occurs when wolves are 1 or 2 years old.

"They leave their home pack and travel some distance to join a new pack, or find a mate and empty wild area where they establish their own territory," Wydeven said. "Wisconsin wolves normally disperse an average of 70 miles from home, and the previous record was a 300 mile move of a northern Wisconsin wolf into Canada." Other records in North America include travels as far as 550 miles. Wolves most commonly disperse in fall and winter, but it can happen any time of the year. The pressure of a new litter about to be born into the Wildcat Pack in April may have encouraged this wolf to leave, Wydeven said. Indiana DNR biologist Scott Johnson doesn't think that the presence of this single wolf heralds a return of large predators to Indiana.

"With the information available now, it appears this is an isolated case of extreme dispersal. It's unlikely that wolves would settle in the agricultural, industrial and suburban landscapes that dominate Indiana," said Johnson. "We don't have the large tracts of forested or undeveloped land that wolf packs need to thrive." The Randolph County wolf was the third Great Lakes region wolf known to have wandered well south of its home range in the past two years. In 2001, a wolf that had been fitted with a radio collar in Michigan was shot in northeastern Missouri. Another Great Lakes wolf was shot in Marshall County Illinois last December.

Gray wolves, which are also known as timber wolves, have slowly increased in numbers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan since they were listed as a federally endangered species in 1974. And although they were downgraded to threatened this spring, they still are protected under federal law in all states but Alaska.

Johnson is not concerned about wolves endangering humans. "There has never been a case of a wild wolf killing a person in North America. The handful of cases involving injuries from wolf bites were cases in which wolves were accustomed to being fed by people," said Johnson.

I once heard that coyotes did not live in the mid-west durring the time of the pioneers. It would be interesting to see if someone could find the first reports of coyotes as they migrated east. I wonder if the biologist stated the same things about habiat not suited for them.

There is a real good book called the Eastern Coyote by Gerry Parker. It explains alot about coyote movement to the east with dates. One thing I found interesting was that the coyote and dog mating would be almost impossible in the wild. So where did the coydog come from????? Also explains why the eastern coyotes are larger than they're western counterparts. (possible cross breeding with gray wolf) Roadrunner

This next one is no joke because this Nebraska hunter is facing a real Heavy Fine! As I find these stories, I will post them for everyone to read.

So, here is a newspaper article from Nebraska:

[QUOTE]Published Thursday, March 27, 2003Wolf shot near Spalding is Nebraska's first in 90 years

Last modified at 12:22 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, 2003

Staff and wire reports

SPALDING -- A gray wolf was shot near Spalding in the state's first confirmed wolf sighting in 90 years, state wildlife officials said Wednesday.

A coyote hunter shot the wolf Dec. 15 in a farm field near Spalding, about 55 miles straight north of Grand Island. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission said the 100-pound male canine, which was turned in by the hunter, was recently identified by federal officials as a pure gray wolf.

The animal was shot by people hunting coyotes near the Greeley and Boone County line, not far from Highway 91.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is conducting a criminal investigation to determine the circumstances of the animal's death.

Gray wolves are a protected species under state and federal laws. The wolves recently were down-listed by federal authorities from an endangered species to a threatened species, which allows ranchers to kill wolves they catch attacking livestock.

Under the previous endangered species designation, killing a wolf carried a maximum $100,000 fine and a one-year jail sentence.

"If there was a wolf taken in Nebraska, it would be a violation of the Endangered Species Act," Mark Webb, a special law enforcement agent for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said in January.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has determined the animal originated from a population of wolves found in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The last confirmed wolf sighting in Nebraska was in 1913, when a carcass was recovered near Oconto, said Richard Bischof, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's furbearer and nongame mammal program manager.

There were reported sightings of the animals in the state as late as 1920, but none were confirmed, Bischof said.

Gray wolves are native to Nebraska, but they were killed off in the early 1900s by the widespread use of poison, traps and shooting for fur harvest and population control. Their numbers in Nebraska started to dwindle years earlier as the state's bison population -- the wolves' main food source -- began to disappear.

Today, there are an estimated 300,000 captive wolves and wolf-dogs in the United States.

"We occasionally receive reports of possible wolves in Nebraska, but it is sometimes difficult to positively identify a wolf-like animal," Bischof said. "Wolves and domestic dogs are the same species and readily inter-breed, resulting in wolf-dog offspring."

Recent efforts to restore wolves to part of their former range in the United States may result in more wolves immigrating to Nebraska, Bischof said. Wolves have been reintroduced in states as close as Wyoming and Minnesota.

"The commission does not support the artificial release of wolves or wolf-dogs into the wild in Nebraska and has no wolf reintroduction plans," Bischof said.

Wolf reintroduction has become a hot political issue in the Midwest and West. Ranchers claim wolves prey on their livestock.

Environmental and wild-life officials want the wolf roaming areas it traditionally inhabited before extermination efforts and say wolves kill far fewer cattle and sheep than coyotes and even domestic dogs. [/QUOTE]The link to this web page article is here:

As said in the opening message to this topic, I am doing some more research on the Gray Wolf and where it is showing up throughout the U.S.A. If you would like to see more, check in at "HuntingPA.com" as listed above. This is real interesting stuff!

If you are hunting coyotes ANYWHERE in the US you had better read the ESA. (Endangered Species Act). These guys are in trouble big-time. It May have been an honest mistake and these guys did the right thing by turning themselves in. And they may get a very long time in a Federal big-house to think about it.It depends on the prosecuter and thats a federal prosecuter not some local county yokel DA. And Federal Authorities investigating means the FBI.If you think the FBI is going to do the right thing just look up Ruby Ridge.

I hear you kkahmann!If you can take a look at this topic in my post at "The Gray Wolf is on the Way" by nrarick, what we are witnessing in the U.S. is the beginnings of a national fiasco. It is getting confusing to decide when to take a shot at anything that looks like a big coyote because of "Wolf Hybrids" being let loose by their owners, the actual reintroduction of both the Gray Wolf and Red Wolf in areas throughout the U.S., and the ever increasing boom in the population of coyotes in the U.S. In Pennsylvania, coyotes can be shot "all year" including Sunday hunting. There is not a single program to help legitimate honest coyote hunters to distinquish reintroduced wolves from other "shootable" canines. In my opinion, the "Endangered Species Act" must be totally revised with regard to reintroducing any canine species back into the wild.

How is ANY red blooded American going to tell the difference between such things as a shootable Wolf Hybrid (a gray wolf with its nuts cut off) let go into the wild by a "sentimentalist" owner, or any other legally shootable predator. Most predator hunters don't have much time to make a decision about taking a shot at a coyote in the woodsy norteast part of the U.S. What about "Night Hunting" coyotes? What about 100 to 400 yard shots? How can this poor predator hunter be prosecuted for not knowing that these "Gray Wolves" are traveling over 500 miles in a pop into his state?

It is time to organize and back up our hunters! I support the reintrduction of Gray Wolves back into the wild to a certain extent, but not the prosecution of an honest hunter having no idea that Gray Wolves are showing up in his state over night! Like I said, it is time to organize!

Please take a look at my post in HuntingPA.com and you will get a good idea of what is going on and about the new national fiasco regarding Gray Wolves. I heard people in some states have been watching "wild wolf packs" checking out their horses and ponies, right from their front porch. This article is from a concerned ranch owner very near Ted Turner's ranch. If I find the article I will post it here.

At the same time, Congress is increasing protection for reintroduced wolves, other places are trying to get some of these protections lifted! It is a real national fiasco!

Here is a true story about some endangered Red Wolves that "accidentally" got out of their santuary in Indiana.

[QUOTE]Wolves Missing From Indiana Sanctuary

The search is on for six wolves that broke free from an Indiana sanctuary.The wolves escaped from the Red Wolf Sanctuary in Dillsboro, in western Dearborn County, Indiana. Owner Paul Strasser said the wolves worked their way through a fence that he's been trying to reenforce for two years. Strasser said the wolves were bottle fed and raised at the sanctuary from 13 weeks of age, so they are tame and will likely run if approached.If you spot one of the wolves, please call the Red Wolf Sanctuary. (Their Web site is linked above.) [/QUOTE]The link to the story is here: Wolves Missing from Indiana Santuary. Don't Shoot!

Trying to enforce a fence for "TWO" (2) years! I guess anybody can become a santuary owner. Are there any regulations for letting Endangered Species get out among the hunting public?

Now tell me! Do you really think "all" of these endangered wolf escapes are by accident? When one of those Wolf Hybrids are bought by an exotic pet enthusiast, then let go because it decided to eat his mother-in-law's prize cat, his (the wolf's) escape into the wild was also an accident?

How is any hunter from any state going to know what kind of canine his crosshairs are focused on going to know if the animal is and "Endangered Species"?

Once again, it is time to organize and help that hunter from Nebraska above. Not to mention the one that is now looking at squeezing the trigger on his first Indiana "Red Wolf".

I cant tell wolves from Indiana coyotes. The wolves we see on the discovery channel and in pics are fine fat specimens. I had a friend in Tx with 5 white wolves as pets and the look alot like coyotes. I know wolves are bigger and look different but get 1-300 yds away and I would think its a nice yote. jerryboy

My Fellow Ind. Predator Hunters- Here is the straight poop on this Grey Wolf thing-- Feb. 1st, I was hunting on my christan friends farm near Newark, In. that is close to Freedom & Worthington, along the West Fork of the White River. My friend said that the farmer next to him came over and told him how 2 wolves came up in his barn yard and chased his calves into the barn- well he just closed the door & did the wrong thing by calling the DNR. They came out and got the wolves and told the farmer that they were going to move them just 15 miles down the road- that was a no brainer- they new right where the rest of the pack was and whated them to join back up. Another friend of mine in the same area was feeding this cattle and said he looked up and there was a cougar[ Mountain Lion ] Now, this man knows the difference and doesn't lie. Now, the lie is with our beloved communist DNR, They are subject to no one, they bring this crap into these states and don't tell anyone until it's to late. If you make the mistake of contacting the DNR , they will lie throught there teeth. Their continueing LIE is we don't have any wolves-cougars-bears in the state... Boys,do the farmers and people of In. a real favor- We as predator hunters have to protect ourselves from the Lieing DNR. I as a hunter have one word for the DNR- Brown is down- and you can chase your radio collar in the back of a semi, down I-70

I know this is a old thread but last year I was out calling by Dugger Indiana and seen what I thought was a gray wolf crossing a set of RR tracks where I call at. they come out of the woods and get on the tracks and come up to where the call is then jump off and run across the field... this one came out, stopped on the tracks and had its front legs over one track and the rear legs straddling the other track. it just crossed real slow looking at where the call was. I lost it in the weeds after it crossed the tracks